Zao Now: Friday 13th December 2019
- Dec 13, 2019
- 2 min read
Updated: Oct 6, 2025
Independent snow and weather reporting from the Zao region of Yamagata
New snowfall at base 3cm
Snowfall at base this season 41cm
Posted on Friday 13th December 2019 This is an archived report. The latest Zao Now report can be found here.
It is a colder morning and generally cloudy - some very light snow falling.
There might be some sunshine this morning and there is a good chance of more snow later on tomorrow. Not looking like it's the dumpage we all want.
From what I can see most of Japan seems to be in the same boat in that respect at the moment...
Lifts operating:
- Mikaeri pair
- Chuo Number 1 pair AB
- Utopia Number 2 pair lift
- Onsen Number 1 pair
- Zao Chuo Ropeway / Zao Ropeway / Sky Cable (for sightseeing)
Courses open:
- Chuo (part)
- Utopia
- Uwanodai (part)
Official snow depths (as reported by resort):
- Summit area: 25cm
- Paradise area: 20cm
- Chuo area: 40cm
- Utopia area: 40cm
- Uwanodai area: 25cm
- Oomori area: 15cm
Night time operations:
Nighta in the Uwanodai area is scheduled daily from 28th December 2019 until 1st March 2020 and then 7th, 14th, 20th and 21st March 2020. 5:00pm until 9:00pm.
Nighta in the Yokokura area is scheduled for New Year (28th December 2019 until 5th January 2020); and also on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays between 10th January and 7th March 2020. 5:00pm until 9:00pm.
The Zao Ropeway opens in the evenings on the below dates for 'Light Up' sightseeing purposes - to go and see the Juhyo monsters (not for skiing or boarding) on the following dates:
December 2019: 28th, 29th, 30th, 31st
January 2020: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 10th-12th, 17th-19th, 24th-27th, 29h-31st
February 2020: all days apart from Tuesdays
There is an extra charge for this night time Ropeway operation.
Zao Now 2019-2020 season |
Data as of Friday 13th December 2019 Total snowfall at base 41cm Number of days snowfall observed at base 7 days Most snowfall observed in 1 day 16cm (on 5th December) November 2019 snowfall 8cm observed on 3 days December 2019 snowfall 33cm observed on 4 days |
All snowfall data presented on this page is the snowfall measured and observed at base/town level by our reporter based in Zao Onsen. The 'new snowfall' number represents the amount of snow measured since the previous report. All opinions are those of the individual reporters. Information regarding ski area operations is manually checked every morning and is believed to be correct at the time of the report.